Samuel Basallo's All-Star ballot designation might cost him

Samuel Basallo is having a great season. At just 21 years old, he is already the most feared hitter in the Orioles lineup. Looking at the 2026 Orioles statistical team leaders, he is either leading the team or close behind the leader in every single offensive stat. That being the case, it's no surprise that the Orioles have put him front and center in their early All-Star voting campaign. Unfortunately, because Basallo is on the ballot as a DH rather than as a catcher, it's now extremely unlikely that he is going to make the All-Star team by way of the fan vote.

It's nobody's fault in particular. Fans can only vote for one catcher per league, so if the Orioles listed Basallo as a catcher, that would split the vote with fellow catcher Adley Rutschman and benefit neither of them. Since Adley has played a larger percentage of his games at catcher, it makes sense that he would be on the ballot as a catcher rather than Basallo. Since the Orioles still want to promote Basallo, the natural place for him on the ballot becomes as a DH.

Samuel Basallo got a tough draw with who he's competing with to be the starting DH at the All-Star game

So that's why it's the way it is, but why is it a problem for Basallo? Any Orioles fan is going to vote for him no matter what position he's listed as on the ballot, and any non-Orioles fan who thinks Basallo deserves to be an all-star can still easily vote for him.

It's true that the vast majority of Orioles fans are going to vote for Basallo as a DH, but unfortunately, the difference in fan voting is fans of teams in the other league. Most fans who vote for All-Star vote for all their team's players and then pick who they actually think should be an All-Star in the other league.

So, for example, an Orioles fan might vote straight Orioles for their AL All-Star selections, and then for the NL All-Stars go around the diamond picking whoever seems most deserving based on the stats right in front of them. In return, a Phillies fan might vote straight Phillies in the NL, and then, in the AL, go around the diamond, picking whoever seems most deserving based on the stats provided by the ballot, which are AVG, HR, RBI, and OPS. There is no mention there of games played, defensive value, or any stadium or environmental factors taken into account.

There are, of course, some fans who come into voting very prepared, with knowledge of who they believe is most deserving, regardless of the stats provided, and there are fans who won't vote based on team allegiance, but both of these kinds of fans are in the minority. The vast majority of voters are there to vote for their guys and will then make their decision based on the four stats provided on the ballot.

That's what hurts Basallo. Amongst catchers, his .840 OPS is very impressive. It's dwarfs what most catchers are doing and puts him right up there with Shea Langaliers (who is on a slide) and Dillon Dingler (who is on a heater). NL fans looking for a catcher to pick could easily select Basallo amongst those options, especially considering that the Orioles are the best team out of the Athletics and the Tigers.

Up against the players at DH, Basallo's numbers just aren't on the same level as what Yordan Alvarez is doing. Alvarez might win the AL MVP as a DH. He leads the AL in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, HR, and OPS. He's going to win the fan vote for DH in a landslide.

This doesn't spell the end of Basallo's All-Star hopes. He could still make the team as a reserve, which is voted on by the players and the commissioner's office, but those votes are not usually kind to rookies, so most likely, simply because of the balloting, Basallo is out of luck this year.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow